Bon Jovi Rocks The Arena

MUSIC REVIEW

February 13, 1989|By Thom Duffy of The Sentinel Staff

The Orlando Arena had seen its debut crowds for comedy, country, college basketball and even a symphony pop concert. But Friday night it belonged to the fans who probably will pack the place most often in the months and years ahead.

It belonged to the rock 'n' roll kids of Central Florida.

This was their night and their show, an inaugural rock blowout to the pop-metal beat of Bon Jovi and opening act Skid Row. The fans, 15,000 strong and mostly teen-age, were almost as loud as the bands they had come to see, hear and cheer.

From the moment singer Jon Bon Jovi burst onto the stage, propelled from a trapdoor below amid exploding golden sparks, the singer and the band that bears his name gave a fine, fun performance that was ideal as the arena's rock debut.

That was true, in part, because Bon Jovi's hits show how rock songwriting itself has been shaped by the rise of arena concert tours. The band's songs sound bigger than life, with melodramatic arrangements made for sprawling stages, and catchy choruses to which thousands can chant along: ''Your love is like BAAAD medicine!''

Bon Jovi billed this as the ''Brotherhood'' or ''Jersey Syndicate'' tour because opening each show is Skid Row, a leather-clad quintet whose members also hail from Bon Jovi's home state of New Jersey. With a hit single, ''Youth Gone Wild,'' getting attention from MTV and rock radio stations, Skid Row held its own, playing a harder, rougher brand of rock than its better-known pals.

However, despite pre-show appeals from the concert's promoter and Bon Jovi's camp, Skid Row's lead singer, Sebastian Bach, littered the set with rebellious profanity that brought roars of appreciation from the crowd. It was a cheap stage shtick used by other heavy-metal acts ranging from Van Halen to Whitesnake. And Bach's mouth just detracted from the band's tight, tough and talented rock 'n' roll.

Bon Jovi began its set with the opening song from their latest hit album, New Jersey. ''Lay your hands on me!'' Jon Bon Jovi sang, as legions of female fans in the crowd screamed and dreamed of doing just that. Video screens on the overhead scoreboard gave a grainy but welcome close-up of the band. Lucky fans on the floor had a better view but were discouraged from rushing forth by a phalanx of two dozen security workers at the stage front.

The 26-year-old singer ran the length of the stage, leaning past the security guards to slap hands with some fans. His lush brown locks flew around his head as he whirled, twirled and kicked his way through songs including the band's first hit, ''Runaway,'' ''Wild in the Streets,'' ''Bad Medicine'' and ''You Give Love a Bad Name.'' The band - guitarst Richie Sambora, bassist Alec John Such, keyboardist David Bryan and drummer Tico Torres - drove each number with hard-rock energy and pop-chart bounce.

''We've got something they can never take away,'' sang Bon Jovi in ''Born to be My Baby,'' the band's latest Top 5 love tune. And in that line, you could hear another reason why this band connected so strongly with its audience. The songs repeatedly played on the theme of ''us against them'' to young fans who feel that they're up against parents, teachers, bosses or just the pressures of adolescence. And when the band began a slow-dance tempo, the title of the song that followed stated Bon Jovi's record-selling stance clearly - ''I'll Be There for You.''

While the songs reached out to the fans emotionally, a great stage effect allowed Jon Bon Jovi to reach out to them literally. During ''Let It Rock,'' a huge catwalk descended from the arena ceiling. Suspended around the edge of the arena floor, it allowed the singer to scamper around the circumference of the hall, giving a closer view to all, flaming the night's communal spirt.

That spirit reached another peak toward the end of the set as Jon Bon Jovi began singing one recent hit a cappella and encouraged the crowd to follow. They did, with 15,000 voices singing as one: ''Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear; Oh, livin' on a prayer!'' It was a moment even an ardent opponent of rock music might have found heartwarming.

Bon Jovi's songs, though arguably sincere, are also undeniably simplistic in melody and lyric. The band's style, though certainly catchy, is heavily derivative of many early rock acts. For those reasons, Friday's concert couldn't hope to match the provocative and powerful level of the best rock shows.

But the band's strengths outweighed its weaknesses Friday night. And with the support of the kids they came to play for, Bon Jovi gave rock 'n' roll a good name at the Orlando Arena.